The present invention relates to wearing apparel, to footwear, to other garments, and to accessories, such as backpacks, worn with lighting elements. Footwear and garments with flashing lights have been popular for a number of reasons, including safety, an attractive appearance, and simply for a novelty effect.
Lighting units for footwear have typically included a light source, such as one or more light-emitting diodes, a power source, such as a battery, and a switch to cause the power source to be connected to the light or lights. Often such units will include electronic circuit modules which can control the time such lights are actually illuminated, which limits the power consumption, saving the battery. Characteristically, electronic circuits have used lead or lead/tin solder in many components and joints. From 1992 to present, all children's lighted shoes contain lead. A search of the art discloses by this invention no attempt to remove lead (Pb) from shoes.
There has been a considerable effort to minimize or remove lead from the environment, and particularly from children's rooms and toys. In carrying out this effort, it is desirable to provide lighting modules for shoes and other garments that are lead free (Pb). As such lighting circuit modules become more popular, they are often incorporated into garments, especially shoes for children. The modules that are concealed in shoes are usually glued or cemented into the heels and are generally inaccessible, but as these shoes find their way into landfills, the toxic lead can possibly leach out causing contamination of the environment. Other modules and associated wiring, which may be in jackets, shirts, or backpacks, also include a number of solder joints that contain lead. While larger electronic components are seldom relegated to landfills, worn out clothing and shoes, often is.
Children's electronically lighted shoes, in particular, are not recyclable and, when worn out or outgrown, typically end up on landfills. The accumulation over time of many millions of shoes with modules containing lead carries a risk of the lead getting into ground water, thereby polluting drinking water sources. It is desirable that this possible source of contamination be eliminated. It is believed that it is only of question of time before any electronic assemblies containing lead-based solder will be legislatively banned from landfills.